Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong reacts after a play during first half action against the California Golden Bears Saturday Sept. 19, 2015 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tx.

Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong reacts after a play during first half action against the California Golden Bears Saturday Sept. 19, 2015 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tx.

Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, San Antonio Express-News

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Texas Longhorns' running back Johnathan Gray heads to the end zone for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears during first half action Saturday Sept. 19, 2015 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tx.

Texas Longhorns' running back Johnathan Gray heads to the end zone for a touchdown against the California Golden Bears during first half action Saturday Sept. 19, 2015 at Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Tx.

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Kenny Lawler #4 of the California Golden Bears catches a 17-yard touchdown pass against the Texas Longhorns during the second quarter on September 19, 2015 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. less

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Kenny Lawler #4 of the California Golden Bears catches a 17-yard touchdown pass against the Texas Longhorns during the second quarter on September 19, 2015 at Darrell K Royal-Texas ... more

Photo: Cooper Neill, Getty Images

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AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Jerrod Heard #13 of the Texas Longhorns scrambles for a 2 yard touchdown run against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter on September 19, 2015 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. less

AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Jerrod Heard #13 of the Texas Longhorns scrambles for a 2 yard touchdown run against the California Golden Bears during the first quarter on September 19, 2015 at Darrell K ... more

AUSTIN – For a few precious seconds there, on a night when Texas fans adored their quarterback, believed in their head coach and even loved their athletic director, all was right in the Longhorns' world.

After Heard delivered the Longhorns to the brink of a stirring, program-changing comeback, a missed extra-point attempt by UT kicker Nick Rose allowed California to escape with a 45-44 victory at Royal Memorial Stadium.

Strong, the second-year coach who so sorely needed a defining victory, wasn't even watching when it slipped away. He said once Heard crossed the goal line on an electric 45-yard scamper with 1:11 remaining, he turned to his assistants to set up the defense.

When Rose's kick sailed wide right, Strong's head was turned.

"All of a sudden I saw one of (Cal's) players running," Strong said. "I was like, 'Oh, my God.'"

Even before the miss, Saturday's game was remarkable enough. The Golden Bears (3-0) scored 31 consecutive points to take a three-touchdown lead after three quarters, but Heard rallied the Longhorns with a magnificent performance including 364 passing yards and 163 rushing yards.

With less than two minutes remaining and UT (1-2) trailing by seven, Heard drove the Longhorns 81 yards for what looked like the tying score. It wasn't.

"It was a crushing loss," Strong said.

Added UT senior wide receiver Daje Johnson, who caught five passes for 145 yards: "One of the craziest games I've ever been in. This one hurts the most."

Now UT (1-2) has to deal with a schedule that doesn't get any easier. Each of the Longhorns' next three opponents – Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma – remain undefeated. If they can't pull off an upset during that stretch, a 1-5 start to Strong's second season looms.

But he and his players took solace late Saturday in all of the reasons they have to be encouraged.

"It's one of those things that's going to build the team," Heard said.

"We grew up tonight," Strong said. "We can learn a lot from this."

In his second career start, Heard dazzled from the beginning and once again made UT fans wonder what took the Longhorns so long to turn him loose. The redshirt freshman became the first UT quarterback to pass for at least 300 yards and rush for at least 100 yards in the same game since Colt McCoy did it against Texas A&M in 2009.

On UT's first touchdown drive, he made two deep throws in a row down the left sideline, one to Daje Johnson and the next to Johnathan Gray. In the second quarter, he coolly led the Longhorns on a 95-yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 34-yard scramble and a 43-yard completion to John Burt.

But freshman quarterbacks are known for making mistakes, and Heard wasn't immune to that tendency. He committed UT's first offensive turnover of the season late in the second quarter when an ill-advised throw was picked off by Cal's Jalen Jefferson. That enabled the Bears to get a field goal and tie the score just four seconds before halftime.

Then, on UT's first possession after the break, Heard fumbled the ball away on a hit by Cal's Mustafa Jalil near midfield. The Bears didn't waste that opportunity, either, driving 42 yards for a go-ahead touchdown.

As if facing Cal's Jared Goff, one of the nation's most accomplished passers, wasn't enough of a challenge, defending Goff became even more difficult for the Longhorns when they lost both of their starting safeties in the first half. Dylan Haines was ejected for targeting on a helmet-to-helmet hit, and a few minutes later, Jason Hall went down with an apparent shoulder injury.